Falling Inside The Black
by Roselie Parry
Summary: After a traumatizing accident leaves the team broken & stunned, the mad search for Patrick Jane begins. Meanwhile Jane finds himself in an unknown house where he learns that one of its occupants is someone from his past, someone he thought to be long dead
1. The Fall

Chapter 1

"Just let me go, Grace."

"_No_... If I let go, you'll die."

"And if you don't let go, we'll _both_ die..."

Grace Van Pelt adjusted her grip on Patrick Jane's wrists, biting her lip as she struggled not to lose her hold on sweat damp skin.

She had been stretched out on her stomach on the loose forest floor for almost twenty minutes now, fifteen feet down a steep ravine that went another ten feet before becoming a cliff that fell at least forty feet, the currently fraying rope tied around her waist the only thing keeping her and the blond haired consultant from falling to what would most likely be their deaths.

Van Pelt had offered to be the one to go down due to her outdoors experience and the fact that she was the lightest person in the team, she was fairly sure if it had been Lisbon or Cho who had gone down, the rope would have snapped by now.

Above them, Teresa Lisbon and three forest rangers were on a mad search to find another rope to replace the current rope that was being held on to tightly by fellow CBI agents Kimball Cho and Wayne Rigsby, the old rope not having the strength to hold the combined weights of Van Pelt and Jane.

The others had tried to pull them up the hill, and had managed to get them about two feet before the rope had begun to fray making them all freeze.

"Hurry up guys, the rope is gonna snap!" Grace shouted, mentally cursing the fact that her hands were starting to sweat.

In front of her, Jane was laying in a similar position, hands clutching her wrists while his shoes make a feeble attempt to try and find purchase on the loose soil, his forehead now pressed to the dirt making it impossible for the red headed agent to see his face.

"It's gonna be okay Jane, we're gonna be okay. They're gonna find another rope and we'll be out of here, you'll see," Van Pelt did her best to keep her voice steady and reassuring, despite the fact that her arms and shoulders were beginning to ache, and that the ex-psychic was getting tired by the way he had basically stopped his attempts to push himself up the hill, his leg simply laying bent up against the leaf covered ground, "don't give up."

"My arms are tired, my legs are tired... My whole bodies tired," Jane lifted his head, bits of leaf clinging to his hair, his expression telling Grace just how close to letting go the man was, his hands doing their best to keep a tight grip on hers, "I've been holding on for almost an hour Grace. You need to let me go, they'll be able to pull you up no problem, but the both of us... it's just too much."

"First off all, stop complaining. Second of all, they're going to find another rope and we're _both _going to get pulled up, okay? So just suck it up." Grace's voice wasn't as steady as she'd hoped it would be.

Jane gave her a soft reassuring smile, though it didn't reach his eyes which held a barely hidden sadness, "it's alright Grace, I've made peace..."

"That's bullshit and you know it," Van Pelt cut the older man off, her tone sharp, "I'm not letting go, so you can just shut up."

The consultant said nothing, simply shifted his weight slightly causing the rope to groan. When his hands suddenly loosened, Grace's eyes widened as she tightened her grip, "no... Jane don't do this... They're gonna bring another rope anything, just _please _hang on."

"Jane, don't you _dare_ let go of her you son of a bitch!" Rigsby's shout sounded from the top of the ravine, from where he currently sat on the ground with a white-knuckled grip on the rope, Cho seated behind him with his heels dug into the ground.

"Wayne, if they haven't found a rope by now... I highly doubt they're going too," the blondes grip was still mostly slack around the red headed agents wrists, "and I'm not going to have Grace die because of me, it's not an option."

"Just hold on..." Grace's voice had turned to a whisper and she felt tears pricking her eyes.

"I can't hold on anymore..."

Above them, just out of site Lisbon had become shouting at the rangers about a lack of ropes in trucks, and Jane smiled softly, eyes flickering to the top of the hill, then back to the agent in front of him, "tell Lisbon I wouldn't of traded anything we did together for, well anything... and make sure they all know that I cared for them all like they were my own family..."

Grace found herself laughing slightly, despite the fact that she felt tears run down her cheeks, "they already know that, I mean, we _are _a family Patrick... Besides, you can..."

"Just... do that one thing for me Grace, let them know, please," Jane fixed the young woman with an intense blue stare as he finally let go of the agents wrists.

"Goodbye Grace."

"No...No...Jane... Please..."

Van Pelt found herself sobbing, clinging desperately to Jane's jacket sleeves in an attempt to keep her grip, even though she could feel him slipping away.

Jane let out an instinctive shout when he finally slid right out of the jacket, the CBI team all shouting his name as the human survival instinct kicked in and he clawed at the loose soil before he vanished over the edge of the cliff, leaving Rigsby and Cho to haul up a sobbing Grace who still clutched the consultants jacket in her fists.

"It's okay Grace, I gotcha," Wayne pulled the young woman to his chest, tucking her head under his chin as he did his best to fight against his own tears, keeping the stunned, trembling agent close, watching as the rangers called in a search and rescue team to search the bottom of the cliff for Jane.

Cho had gone over to where Lisbon was kneeling in the dirt, tears streaking her face as she open and closed her mouth silently, staring at the edge of the ravine.

"He's gone..."

Lisbon's voice shook with shock, sadness and just a hint of anger as she turned her head to look at Cho with a stunned expression, the Asian agents own expression on the verge of turning from unreadable to upset, then she turned her face back to the ravine again, "Jane's gone... He's actually gone..."

Then her eyes squeezed shut, hand rising to cover her face as she finally broke down, shoulders shaking as she collapsed sideways into Cho who had obviously been expecting it as he caught her, carefully maneuvering himself into a seated position, arms wrapped tightly around their boss.

**~Mentalist~~Mentalist~~Mentalist~~Mentalist~~Mentalist~~Mentalist~~Mentalist~**

**OMG! O.O I'm so obsessed with The Mentalist right now... So I wrote this xD total cliffy I know (:**

**Reviews are always loved! :D Next chap will be up... At some point in the future.**

**Enjoy!**

_**I'm falling in the black,  
>Slipping through the cracks,<br>Falling to the depths, can I ever go back?  
>Dreaming of the way it used to be,<br>Can you hear me?**_  
><strong>- Skillet<strong>


	2. Blood In Your Mouth

Chapter 2

The sky was blue.

Not a single cloud in the sky, the only obstructions being the branches above, some of the broken from the fall.

His fall.

At first he'd honestly thought he was dead, as he had never remembered the sky being quite _that _blue before.

But then the pain had flooded his system and, well, dead people didn't feel pain.

Which meant he was still very much alive... For now at least.

He had tried calling for help, but only a pathetic sounding squeak had escaped followed by the taste of blood hitting his tongue and he had given up pretty quickly.

It was hard to breath and getting harder, both his sides throbbed with each inhale and exhale he took, the air rattling in his chest, every time he coughed the taste of copper got worse and he would close his eyes as he swallowed it back, the blood making him feel nauseous.

There was something stabbed below his ribs on his left side, he'd felt it when he'd managed to raising his arm, fingers trembling as they'd lightly ran over the splintered piece of wood stabbed into his torso.

He couldn't fell his legs, and he _knew _his right leg was broken, as he'd managed to lift his head long enough to look down when he'd first realized his legs weren't moving, his right shin bone having just started to tear through his pant leg making him glad for the briefest of moments that he couldn't feel it.

'_Why couldn't I have just died? It would have been better then this... There's no way they're going to get to me before I choke to death on my own blood.' _

Sucking in a breath as deep as he could, he focused back on the sky, trying to ignore the numerous pains and the panic of not being able to move his legs.

He had fallen onto private property, that much he knew. The only way onto the acres upon acres of forest was a security guarded gate and the rangers had informed them that the man who owned the property was extremely rich as well as extremely anti-social and on top of that a hermit.

Meaning the team would need a warrant to come onto the property just to look for him...

Or more likely, to look for his body.

The sound of bike tires skidding in dirt had his focus faltering, his focus was destroyed completely by footsteps and a shadow to his right and then a face over his, blocking out that clear blue sky.

He blinked in slight surprise, the teenager who was now kneeling over him blinking back, a mixture of panic, fear and concern covering her face as she reached up a hand to tuck her wavy brown hair back behind her ear and quickly adjusting the black toque on her head.

The girl quickly sat back, biting her lip and studying him from head to toe, tugging at the fingerless leather gloves on her hands.

After a moment she reached out, gingerly lifting his vest to check for ID with a slightly disgusted look at the sight of blood, pulling the small plastic card from the inside pocket.

She scanned it over before checking his pockets, pulling out his wallet and checking his drivers license, then his cellphone, which, as expected, was broken beyond repair.

He tried to speak but she shushed him and shrugged off her hoodie, readjusting the scarf around her neck before she folded the hoodie and shuffled forward on her knees, carefully sliding her hand under his head and lifting it high enough to slide the garment underneath as a makeshift pillow.

Standing, she stepped over him, crouching down on his other side to inspect the branch jutting from his below his ribs, then she frowned again and without a word pulled an Iphone from her jeans pocket and sent a text, giving him a reassuring smile as she sat down next to him, hesitating slightly before she reached over and gently took his hand, squeezing lightly which, after a moment, he returned.

There was silent after that, apart from his wheezes and the teenager occasionally coughing.

The sound of an engine pulled the consultant from his thoughts, and he turned his head slightly as he watched the ATV pulling the trailer stop next to the bike carelessly dumped on the ground.

A man in his early fifties got off, graying black hair mussed and dressed in jeans and a grey sweater, black medical bag in hand as he hurried over, the teenager obediently moving aside, still holding the injured consultants hand as the man crouched beside them.

"How's he doin'?"

The teenager gave the older man a pointed look, a look that said '_what do you think?',_ and he smiled slightly at her before standing and stepping over the man on the ground, crouching on his other side, setting the bag down and reaching out to gently grasp his wrist, checking his pulse.

The consultant allowed the man to shine a pen light in his eyes, wincing slightly from the brightness.

"I'm Noah and this lovely young lady holding you hand is Kitty... Can you tell me your name?"

The man, Noah, spoke with a clear confident voice and he knew instantly that he had to have a medical background.

"Pa'rick... M'names Pa_trick_," he finally managed it after a few tries, his pulsing beating faster when he realized it was harder to keep a steady train of thought.

"Well Patrick, you're gonna be just fine, we're gonna get you outta here, and patched up," Noah gave him a reassuring smile, patting his unretched shoulder before sitting back and opening the bag, muttering under his breath as he removed a syringe and a small vile of clear liquid.

The blonde cringed slightly, a small whimper escaping his lips as he watched the man fill the needle.

Oh, how he _hated _needles... Especially when they were being given by unknown men in the middle of the woods.

"Just relax Patrick, It's just a bit of morphine to help ease the pain."

He nodded, well he was pretty sure he nodded, managing to tilt his head slightly to watch as his sleeve was cut with a tiny pair of steel scissors before a rubber band was tied around his bicep so Noah could find a vein.

He didn't remember much after that, the world becoming an almost blissful haze as the pain dulled.

The consultant was out completely by the time the two strangers strapped him to a back brace and loaded him onto the trailer.

**~Mentalist~~Mentalist~~Mentalist~~Mentalist~~Mentalist~~Mentalist~~Mentalist~**

**YAY!**

**Another chapter (: I had a long debate with friends on who I should start this chapter with xD Jane or the team! Obviously Jane won :D**

**Tonight I'm so alone,  
><strong>**This sorrow takes a hold,  
>Don't leave me here so cold...<br>Never wanna be so cold.  
>Your touch used to be so kind,<br>Your touch used to give me life,  
>I've waited all this time...<br>~ Skillet  
><strong>


	3. The Letter

Chapter 3

Lisbon sat in her office, elbows on her desk and face in her hands.

It was only nine in the morning and she hadn't slept in two days, not since the accident, her mind not allowing her time to relax enough for sleep to take hold.

Not bothering to look up at the sound of a light knock on the door, Lisbon sighed, irritation lacing her voice, "what?"

"Hey boss."

Lifting her head from her hands, Lisbon stared at the Asian agent standing in the doorway, his expression unreadable as always.

"Cho, what are you doing here? You've been given time off, you should be at home resting... Go."

"So have you, but you're still here," the agent stated, "besides, Rigsby and Van Pelt are waiting for us in the bullpen."

"What?" Lisbon straightened in her seat, "What for? The search warrant shouldn't be in until this afternoon."

"Dunno, Van Pelt called us, told us to get here ASAP, said it was important."

Getting to her feet with a sigh, Lisbon followed Cho out of her office and across the small lobby over to the bullpen where Rigsby and Van Pelt sat at the small table, Rigsby looking half asleep with a cup of coffee in hand.

"What's going on? I ordered all of you to take time off... Especially you," Lisbon fixed the red head with an intense stare.

Grace fidgeted slightly, but spoke anyways, her voice staying steady, "I know, but for one, I can't be home with everything that's happened," she paused then, sucking in a breath before continuing, "and more importantly two... This was dropped off outside my door this morning."

She held up a white envelope between two fingers, "_CBI"_ written across the front in green ink.

"Did you open it?" Lisbon walked over, taking the letter from the younger woman and studying it before slowly starting to open it.

"Yeah, I did, and..." Grace trailed off, staring at the floor.

"And?"

"it's about Jane," the red haired agent looked up then, mouth set in a firm line.

"_What_?" Lisbon quickly opened the envelope and pulled out the neatly folded letter which had been typed on a computer, though they had typed it out in a green that almost matched the pen ink on the envelope, reading the first few words before sitting down at the table and reading out loud.

"_Dear friends of Patrick,_

_I can't say that I really know who any of you are, but I found his ID in his pocket and looked you guys up on the computer. Patrick is currently in the hands of the best doctor I know and if you choose to get one of the search warrants you're wasting your time as he's no longer in the woods. _

_When I found him he was conscience though suffering from a major concussion. He's sustained numerous broken ribs resulting in a punctured lung, as well as a branch to his side, just below the left of his rib cage."_

Lisbon paused, taking a breath, aware that all eyes were on her and not sure if she even wanted to read the rest, but she forced herself to continue.

"_Besides that he suffered a severely broken leg, and..." _Lisbon suddenly cut herself off abruptly, voice cracking as she set the letter down, biting her lip.

"And what?" questioned Rigsby, looking at the brunette with his eyebrows raised before reaching over to pick up the piece of paper off the table, eyes scanning the letter to find where his boss left off, sucking in a breath of his own, he finished the rest of the letter.

"_and possibly a severe back injury." _Wayne paused, wetting his lips and glancing from Cho to Van Pelt before continuing,_ "I won't know more until he wakes up, and the doctor is able to make a better assessment. I'll keep you posted on his progress, but please know he's in safe hands. I'm sorry I can't tell you where he is, but when he wakes up, I'll see if he gives me permission to take his picture as proof that what I've told you is the truth._

_Until I write again,_

_KCD."_

"How can they not tell us where Jane is?" Grace finally questioned after Rigsby had finished and put the letter on the table.

"Well it has to be a hospital doesn't it?" Rigsby piped in, "I mean, if he's that... _injured_... then they would have had to take him to one, wouldn't they?"

"Wayne, Grace, Check every hospital, every place that does surgery, within a _hundred_ miles of where Jane fell," Lisbon stood, the rest of the team quick to follow, "if he's at any of them, I want him found. I also wanna know who this '_KCD_' person is, for all we know they could be working for Red John and I don't wanna take any chances."

"We're on it, c'mon Grace," Rigsby nodded, and he and Grace almost scrambling to reply to the order as Lisbon turned her attention to the stoic agent by the table.

"Cho, you're with me. The moment that warrant comes in, I want it in my hands, a search party formed and we're heading out to the damn hermits property to comb every single inch of it. If there's even a trace of Jane there, I want it found."

Cho just nodded.

"You got it, boss."

**~~Mentalist~~Mentalist~~Mentalist~~Mentalist~~Mentalist~~Mentalist~~**

**YAY! Update (:**

**I know it's not a super long one :/ but I must say, I'm pretty proud of it as I've been suffering from serious writers block due to pre-graduation paranoia. xD**

**Review people! Honestly it doesn't have to be super long, just an "epic chapter" would be nice lol.**

**Hope you enjoyed! :D**

_**I don't wanna live,  
>I don't wanna breathe,<br>'less I feel you next to me,  
>you take the pain I feel...<br>**_**~ Skillet  
><strong>


	4. Cabin In The Woods

Chapter 4

Lisbon and Cho met Steven Gale at the property gate at three in the afternoon.

It only took a flash of badges for the security guard to demand a warrant which Lisbon was all to happy to hand over.

Not seeming overly pleased, Steven nodded and opened the gate, going through first as the agents and the search party followed close behind.

"Which way are the cliffs?" Lisbon looked around at the forest on either side of the narrow one lane dirt road.

"Depends on which one you mean," Steven stated, running a hair through neatly trimmed brown hair, "we got two, Angel's Face and Devil's Face."

"Which ones bigger?" questioned Cho, fixing the baseball cap on his head, having chosen to wear normal clothes instead of a suite, due to having to spend an unknown amount of time combing through the woods.

"That'd be Devil's Face, also known to the hikers as l_a Puerta Del Infierno,_the door of hell if you roughly translate it," Steven jammed his hands in his pockets, "you think your boy fell from Devil's Face? I only know one guy who fell from that cliff and lived to tell the tale."

"Yeah, we'll split up into two groups, half of us will go to Devil's Face, the other half to the other one."

Lisbon quickly split the group up and got a map from Steven for the other group, before motioning for the guard to show them the way.

Looking none to thrilled, Steven led the way, over numerous brooks and small cracks and caverns in the earth, only pausing to make sure no one was lagging behind and everyone was accounted for.

Finally, after almost an hour they arrived at a large cliff, and it only took one look up at broken branches to tell Lisbon they were definitely at the right one.

"Alright everyone, break up, look for anything that might belong to Jane or another person for that matter... I wanna know which way whoever took Jane went." Lisbon barked out the order, turning to Cho who was already crouched the in the ten feet away.

"Hey boss, come and look at this."

Lisbon and Steven walked over to the agent, staring at the tire tracks dug into the dirt.

"ATV tracks... and over there, there's blood on the leaves. These tracks are only a few days old. Looks like someone showed up and got Jane out of here." Cho stood, wiping the dirt from his hands.

"Mr. Gale, we need to talk to the man who owns the property," Lisbon turned to the security guard who was staring up at the broken branches.

"Yeah, I can take you over to the house," Steve nodded, "I can't say Mr. Tyler'll talk to you, as he ain't a people person, but you can try."

"We'll try then, lead the way."

The guard sighed before he turned with a mutter and started walking, Lisbon and Cho at his heels, the other members of their group fanning out to make sure nothing was missed.

It took ten minutes to reach the small cabin, an even small shed tucked behind it, nestled among the trees.

"Here we are."

Lisbon and Cho exchanged glances before looking at the guard with skeptical expressions.

"What? Were you expecting something impressive?" Steve made his way up onto the small porch, raising a hand to knock on the door, " Mr. Tyler? You in?"

There was a moment of silence before they heard the door unlock and Steve stepped back off the porch as the door opened and an unimpressed looking man stepped out.

The man was dressed in torn jeans and an army green sweater with a vest over it, a tattered baseball cap jammed on his head over graying hair, matching gray stubble coating his chin and jaw.

"Whaddya want, Steve?"

"Sorry to bother you sir, but we have a warrant here to search your property," Lisbon interjected, stepping forward and showing her badge, which the man reached out to take, studying it with suspicious stormy eyes.

"Why? I ain't done nothin'," The man growled, handing the badge back and watching as Cho made his way towards the small shed.

"One of our guys fell from a cliff onto your property, now he's missing," Lisbon replied, sucking in a breath as she fished the picture of Jane from her jacket pocket and held it out for Mr. Tyler to look at, "have you seen him?"

The photo was lightly yanked from her hand and studied, only to be handed back five seconds later, "I ain't seen him. Which cliff?"

Steve shifted from one foot to the other, "Devil's Face sir."

The hermit snorted, "And you think he's still breathin'?"

"Mr. Tyler, do you own an ATV?"

All turned their heads to look at Cho who stood by the shed, staring at the man on the porch.

"I do, what's it to yah?"

"We found ATV tracks in the same location where Mr. Jane fell." the agent turned his attention back to the shed, reaching out to unlatch the shed door.

"We'll then Steve here ain't doin' his job...I ran the damn thing into a tree last week." The man reached up to pull his hat down more securely on his head before his hands came to rest irritatedly on his hips.

Cho only glanced back once before pulled the doors open, sighing at the state of the ATV inside, "he's telling the truth... I doubt this thing can even start."

"'Course I'm tellin' the truth, why would I lie to cops?" Mr. Tyler glared at the agents before turning to the guard, "Mr. Gale, can I speak to you for a minute... _alone_."

"yes sir," Steve nodded, glancing at the agents as he went back onto the porch and inside, "I'll just be a moment."

Lisbon watched as Cho made his way back to her side, and the two CBI agents stood in silence, unable to hear what was being inside the small cabin.

Both looked up when the door reopened and Steve stepped out, nodding to the hermit who shut the door behind the guard who didn't glance back as the door shut.

"Is everything alright?" asked Lisbon, tucking the consultants photo back into her jacket.

"He didn't fire you, did he?" Cho raised an eyebrow as the young man started to lead the way back into the woods the exact way they'd came.

"Hm? Oh... No, I didn't get fired, he just doesn't like it when people just show up unannounced... as he doesn't like people," Steven explained, stepping over a fallen birch tree, "hence why he's a, yah know... hermit."

Lisbon nodded but said nothing, choosing to stay silent and listen to the birds as they made their way back to the main gate.

* * *

><p>"Mr. Gale, can I speak to you for a minute... <em>alone<em>."

"yes sir,"

He watched as Steve nodded and glanced back at the agents as he went back onto the porch with a polite _'I'll just be a moment,' _thrown over his shoulder

He closed the door securely before turning on the younger man.

"What the _hell _are they doing here Steven? You're supposed to keep people _off _my land, what if they find out this isn't even my damn house?"

"What was I supposed to do Noah? They're cops _and _they have a freakin _warrant! _I can't tell them no!_" _

Noah sighed, taking off his hat to comb fingers through his hair before jamming the grungy thing back on, raising a hand in a sign of submission, "alright, alright, calm down Steven, I'm sorry. I'm just under a lot of stress, I only got three hours of sleep last night. "

The guard nodded, letting out a long exhale, sitting at the small dusty dining table before speaking again, fixing the older man with a sympathetic look, "how's he doin'?"

"I'll know more when he wakes up... Which is another reason why I should be up at the house and not down here," Noah sighed, wanting nothing more then to be able to shed the grungy outfit for one much more clean, pulling at the worn vest absently, "and on top of all that Kitty had a bad dream which lead to a panic attack. So I was up most of the night with her trying to make sure she kept breathing."

"She okay?"

"Yeah, I uh, I gave her a shot to relax the muscles in her throat, and she was fine after about a half hour..." Noah folded his arms.

"Glad to hear it, she worries me sometimes... All the shit she's been through. It's just a good thing she's got you for a dad. I don't know no better doctor then you Mr. Draven."

Noah smiled slightly with a chuckle, "get them out of here please, Steven."

"Alright, I'll take them back up to the gate," Steve stood with a nod.

Noah closed the door behind the young man, watching from the window as they vanished into the woods before heading to the back door, right next to where his working ATV sat waiting for him.

He'd check on Kitty and Patrick first, then he was making himself a sandwich and relaxing on the couch with his favorite book and a cup of hot tea.

**~Mentalist~~Mentalist~~Mentalist~~Mentalist~~Mentalist~~Mentalist~~Mentalist~**

**YAY! I finally felt like writing tonight (: while watching a dinosaur show on the television! :D**

**Hope you like it (: please REVIEW, you'll get a "free tea with Jane" coupon if you do!**

**_I'm everything you've wanted,  
>I am the one who's haunting you,<br>I am the eyes inside of you,  
>Stare back at you..<em>_._**

**Skillet (Savior) **


End file.
